Posted 4:35 p.m. Oct. 29

By Alex Kingsbury
U-WIRE Washington Bureau

MANCHESTER, England – Marijuana will be reclassified by the British government so that possession of the drug will no longer be an arrestable offense, Home Secretary David Blunkett announced Tuesday.

The drug will now be classified as a class C drug rather than a class B drug. Other class C drugs include steroids and anti-depressants.

“Cannabis would remain a controlled drug and using it a criminal offense,” said Blunkett. “It would not detract from the simple message that all drugs are harmful and that no one should take drugs.”

Saying that the current laws were far out of date with public opinion about the drug, Blunkett said that that re-grading would allow police and law enforcement efforts to focus on more serious drugs.

“What we want to do is address people where they are at,” Blunkett told the BBC. “The major risk to life to home to family and community is from class A drugs like heroin and crack cocaine.”

Reclassifying the substance means that maximum sentence for possession of the drug would be two years. British police are authorized to make arrests if the offender is suspected of committing an offense whose sentence is greater than five years.

The proposed legislation would save the police making an estimated 100,000 arrests each year in Britain.

Though the proposed change means that possession of the drug is still illegal in practice, it is very unlikely that smokers of the drug will be punished for possessing small amounts on their person.

Blunkett stressed that the move is not a legalization of the substance.

“I am not either legalizing or decriminalizing cannabis,” he said. “”Re-classification would be quite different from decriminalization or legalization.”

The easing of the law follows a number of steps that the government has taken in reproaching how the drug is handled. The recommendations of the Home Secretary follow the recommendations of a study conducted last year that urged a change in the laws. And since July, South London police have been directed not to arrest people for small amounts of the drug, distributing warnings instead. The move was advocated because offenders would not have to report arrests on job applications.

“It is time for an honest and common sense approach focusing effectively on drugs that cause most harm,” said Blunkett.

This decision marks the first substantive relaxing of British drug laws in 30 years.